LG Introduces Korea's Innovative EXAONE 4.0: A Leap in AI Technology

LG Introduces Korea's First Open-weight Hybrid AI Model: EXAONE 4.0

On July 15, 2025, LG AI Research made a significant advancement in artificial intelligence by unveiling EXAONE 4.0, the first open-weight hybrid AI model developed in Korea. This groundbreaking model uniquely combines a Large Language Model (LLM) renowned for its proficiency in natural language processing and generation, with an advanced reasoning AI model. This allows EXAONE 4.0 to not just understand and generate language, but also form hypotheses and verify them to effectively solve problems.

Currently, only a handful of global companies, including Anthropic in the United States, Alibaba in China, and OpenAI, which is working on its own hybrid model, are venturing into this complex realm of AI models. Just months after the release of EXAONE Deep, which marked Korea's first reasoning AI, this latest development highlights LG’s commitment to being a competitive player in the international AI landscape.

What sets EXAONE 4.0 apart is its impressive performance metrics, which place it ahead of leading open-weight AI models from the US, China, and France. Notable benchmark scores include 92.3 on MMLU-Redux, 66.7 on LiveCodeBench v6 for coding tasks, 75.4 on GPQA-Diamond related to scientific queries, and an impressive 85.3 on AIME 2025 for mathematical challenges. These scores underscore the model's capability to deliver high-quality responses across diverse domains.

LG AI Research has made EXAONE 4.0 available as an open-weight model on Hugging Face, a major platform for open-source AI resources. By operating as an open-weight model, it allows users to access the model's parameters, making it easier for researchers and developers to adapt and tailor the AI for various applications.

According to Jinsik Lee, the Head of EXAONE Lab at LG AI Research, this model positions Korea at the forefront of AI innovation. He stated, "We are dedicated to making EXAONE a landmark AI model that embodies Korea's technological excellence in the global market."

In a strategic move to boost its presence and promote collaboration, LG AI Research is hosting the 'LG AI Talk Concert 2025' on July 22 at LG Sciencepark in Magok, Seoul. This event will highlight advancements made in AI technology, including EXAONE 4.0, and outline future research directions.

LG AI Research has developed two versions of EXAONE 4.0: a robust expert model with 32 billion parameters and a light on-device model with 1.2 billion parameters. The former exhibited impressive capabilities by passing professional qualification exams in various fields, from medicine to customs brokerage. This positions EXAONE 4.0 as a valuable tool for industries requiring specialized expert knowledge.

Focusing on practical applications, LG AI Research targeted the development of the on-device model, which can be integrated into a range of devices such as home appliances, smartphones, and even vehicles. One key advantage of on-device models is their ability to perform data processing independently, significantly enhancing privacy and security by eliminating dependency on external server connections.

Remarkably, the on-device version is also designed to be more resource-efficient compared to its predecessor, EXAONE 3.5. Despite its smaller scale, it has outperformed OpenAI's GPT-4o mini in evaluations related to specialized fields such as mathematics and coding.

To further democratize access to AI technology, LG AI Research has partnered with FriendliAI, helping to launch an API service for EXAONE 4.0. This initiative aims to broaden the AI model's utilization across different sectors, allowing developers and businesses to integrate its capabilities without needing extensive computational resources like high-performance GPUs.

The EXAONE Partner's Day event also took place on the launch date, where LG AI Research engaged with twenty-two partner companies to explore collaborative opportunities within the EXAONE ecosystem. Chairman and CEO Kwang-mo Koo remarked on the company's direction in embracing cutting-edge technologies, ensuring that they become seamlessly integrated into everyday life—transforming routines into more meaningful experiences.

As a key player in the global technology landscape, LG Group maintains a commitment to advancing innovation across diverse fields including electronics, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals. With a strong emphasis on sustainable growth, LG looks to enhance quality of life and deliver value through their ongoing investments in technology like AI, demonstrating a dedication to fostering beneficial technologies for society.

For further updates and insights, visit LG Group and LG AI Research.